A bounty is often offered by a group as an incentive for the accomplishment of a task by someone usually not associated with the group. Bounties are most commonly issued for the capture or retrieval of a person or thing. They are typically in the form of money. Two modern examples of bounties are the bounty placed for the capture of Saddam Hussein by the United States and Microsoft's bounty for computer virus creators^[1]. Those who make a living by pursuing bounties are known as bounty hunters. An example of Money. ... Wikinews has news related to this article: Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein in a Suit Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti, (Arabic ), born April 28, 1937 , was the President of Iraq from 1979 until he was captured by the US Government following the 2003 invasion of Iraq. ... Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT, HKEx: 4338) is the worlds largest software corporation, with 2005 global annual sales of close to $40 billion USD and about 64,000 employees in 85 countries and regions. ... In computer security technology, a virus is a self-replicating program that spreads by inserting copies of itself into other executable code or documents. ... A bounty hunter is an individual who seeks out fugitives (Hunting) for a monetary reward (Bounty), for apprehending by law, if such laws exist. ...

The origin of the usage of this word in this sense may have come from the infamous Mutiny on the Bounty. After Lieutenant William Bligh returned to England and reported the mutiny to the Admiralty, HMS Pandora was dispatched to search for Bounty and the mutineers. The voyage gave rise to the expression "bounty-hunting". The mutineers turning Lt Bligh and some of the officers and crew adrift from HMAV Bounty, 29 April 1789 The Mutiny on the Bounty was a mutiny aboard a British Royal Navy ship in 1789 that has been made famous by several books and films. ... William Bligh in 1814 Vice Admiral of the Blue William Bligh, FRS (9 September 1754 - 7 December 1817) was an officer of the British Royal Navy and colonial administrator. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the British Isles Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001 Census) – Density Ranked 1st UK... HMS Pandora was a 24-gun frigate of the Royal Navy, built by Adams and Barnard at Deptford, and launched on 17 May 1779. ...

In Anime

In Cowboy Bebop Spike Spiegel, Jet Black, and Faye Valentine are bounty hunters. They make enough to get by, but most of thier earnings are either gambled away (in Faye's case) or spent on ship repair and property damage (thanks to Spike's recklessness). Cowboy Bebop (1998) (Japanese: カウボーイビバップ) is an anime television series and motion picture that follows a band of American-stylized bounty hunters thrown together by circumstance and necessity, but each with passionately disparate private agendas. ...

In Games

Samus Aran the main character from the Metroid series, is a bounty hunter. Samus Aran Samus Aran is a video game character created by Nintendo, and is the main protagonist in the Metroid series. ... This article is about the first game in the series. ...

Something given or received for worthy behavior, usually on the basis of merit, desert (what people deserve), or ability.

In another show, Trigun, it is much the opposite. The main protagonist, known as Vash the Stampede has a high price on his head. He is thought to be the most dangerous man alive. In actuality, he is a very kind and gentle person; so no one ever believes that he could possibly be this terrible 'Vash' person. Trigun (トライガン) is a sci-fi manga series with a steampunk Wild West theme created by Yasuhiro Nightow in 1995, and adapted into a 26 episode anime series in 1998 by Madhouse. ...

References

1. Cheat Sheet: Microsoft's virus bounty. silicon.com. URL accessed on May 10, 2004.